Hypnotherapy Helps With Almost Everything

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Hypnotherapy is undergoing a bit of a renaissance right now. Around the world, people are remembering it as an effective method for managing many things. This includes post-surgical recovery, easing chronic conditions (including pain), reducing the symptoms of stress and burnout, dealing with mental health diagnoses such as anxiety, depression and OCD, and on to building confidence and focus, as well as working on other life coaching goals. It can even help you improve the health of your energetic body (think meridians and chakras). And, if you are on a spiritual path (Druid, Shaman, Wiccan, Buddhist and so on), it can even help you with that.

 

The BBC magazine  Science Focus recently ran a piece called Rethinking Hypnosis (click here), as they have just cottoned on to how good it can be and have realised that the scientific community seriously needs to investigate, not only how it works, but also what it can work on.

 

Not only that, but American psychiatrist Dr David Spiegel has a self-hypnosis app (Reveri) that is constantly in the news to rave reviews. It has appeared in the Financial Times, The New York Times, Women’s Health and more. You might want to click here for more info on that.

 

And just a few weeks ago, mental health and wellbeing magazine Happiful happily extolled  the virtues of it in surgery and stomach pain management following two new studies (click here).

 

Plus, there’s my book, How to Cope With Almost Anything with Hypnotherapy (simple ideas to enhance your wellbeing and resilience). Published by Green Tree/Bloomsbury, it contains a ton of advice, including how to hypnotise yourself, together with 23 helpful, healing recordings. And you really do want to be clicking here for that.

 

Also, hypnotherapy is currently a global wellness trend. Don’t just take my word for it. There’s an in-depth industry business report that’s making that claim (click here).

 

This means that around the world, a lot of people seeking hypnotherapy out, either from individual hypnotherapists or as part of the wellness retreat holiday excursion. The report states that a post-Covid (and ever-increasing) awareness of what hypnotherapy can do is the main factor driving this demand.

 

Even the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) has noticed this growing popularity, especially in places such as Indonesia, where hypnotherapy is so popular, it’s almost a way of life (you know what to do). LSE researcher Dr Nicholas Long said that it “does have something to offer in terms of thinking about the mental health and wellbeing challenges that so many people are facing in the contemporary world.”

 

Those challenges include anxiety, depression, anger management, stress management and more. However, you can also have it for weight control, pain control and stopping smoking. You want to build coping strategies? It can do that. Achieving gnosis? It can help with that too. Whatever it is that you want, if it is not delivered in a hypnotic state, it’s not hypnotherapy.

 

What is it?

At its most basic, hypnotherapy is therapy conducted in a state of hypnosis. And, as you can see, there are different therapies for different things, depending on what it is you want to achieve.

 

Hypnosis itself is an altered state of consciousness, very similar to daydreaming or losing yourself in a really good book. In this altered state of consciousness, your unconscious mind becomes very susceptible to positive suggestion. Especially when those suggestions are tied to a goal you already know you want to achieve.

 

A hypnotherapist then, is someone who helps you drift into a hypnotic state, there to deliver suggestions related to your therapeutic, coaching, healing, or life goals.

 

And hypnotherapy works as well online as it does face-to-face which means that, when it comes to finding the right fit hypnotherapist for you, you’re not constrained by location. If you live in London and want a Bristol hypnotherapist, you can have one. Similarly, if you live in Manchester, but want a London-based hypnotherapist, you can have them too.

 

Live in Canada but really like the sound of that UK-based hypnotherapist that everyone has been talking about? Not a problem.

 

When delivered online, you just need a crystal-clear connection. In my experience, people much prefer the sound of my voice to come at them from EarPods or headphones rather than from speakers (it’s more personal and immersive that way). Apart from that, you just need to be sitting comfortably. And the therapist needs to be able to see you clearly, so a laptop or tablet is way better than a smartphone for that.

 

For a taste of hypnotherapy delivered by myself, please take a look my newish YouTube channel (you’ll find it here). And feel free to check in on a regular basis, as more content is being added all the time

 

While I don’t know what it is you want hypnotherapy for, I do know you will be jolly glad you tried it.

 

 

It’s Worth a Shot!

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Say hello to my single session therapy and coaching service . . .

 

Do you have a very specific problem in mind, one that is causing you stress but, that you can articulate well? Is there something on the horizon that you would like to prepare for, either physically or mentally? Are you motivated to make rapid but significant changes and achieve your goals sooner rather than later?

If you have answered yes to any of the above, then One Shot might just be for you.

One Shot is a bespoke service available almost immediately, with no delays or waiting lists. If suitable, you and I agree to work together for one focussed session only, there to resolve your immediate challenges and achieve your goals.

One Shot gives you help almost right there and then; it can give you clarity and focus; it draws upon your own innate strengths and inner resources, and it gives you a concrete plan of action going forwards.

It’s not just for people who have an immediate problem, or sudden challenge that needs addressing, it is also a great preventative; a way of heading things off at the pass. We would all be in better shape, physically as well as mentally, if therapy and coaching were used as prevention rather than reparation and repair.

 

With a One Shot session there are three points of contact overall:

 

Point one:

The initial consultation. This will be undertaken either over the phone or via Zoom and will last for approximately 15 minutes. This is where we both figure out if One Shot is suitable for you. If we both agree that it is, we will book the session in and I will send you a short questionnaire to be returned in advance of the session.

 

Point two:

The One Shot session itself. This lasts from one-and-a-half to two hours and can involve a combination of rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT) and positive psychology, as well as hypnotherapy. The aim is for you to leave, not only with greater insight and understanding but, also, with several key points for you to act upon. You will be sent a recording of our therapy / coaching session, together with a copy of the hypnotherapy element (if this was included in your protocol). *

 

Point three:

A follow up call. Either a few weeks or months following the session (at a pre-agreed time and date) I will contact you and check in on your progress following the session. Here we can discuss various things, including possible improvements, and further requirements (such as a full course of therapy if wanted).

 

One Shot can help with:

  • Anxiety
  • Anger Management
  • Adjustment difficulties
  • Coping with change
  • Dealing with uncertainty
  • Relationship problems
  • Stress in all its forms
  • Personal development
  • Decision making
  • Preventative mental health care
  • Sudden life crisis management
  • Building better habits
  • Confidence and self-worth
  • And more

 

 

If you are interested in One Shot, please contact me either by email at info@danielfryer.com or via
WhatsApp on +44 (0)7947 310 052

 

 

 

* A PDF transcript of the session can also be provided upon request, but at extra cost.

Everybody is Stressed, but What Can You do About it?

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I’ve been a therapist now since 2004 and, for most of that time, when people asked me what I specialised in, I told them that anxiety disorders and work-related stress management were my forte but, on reflection, and for several years now, I would say that both life and work have made me a stress specialist.

That term still covers anxiety disorders and work-stress but, it also covers a whole lot more. Stress affects us all and we are becoming more stressed, not less so. In fact, research from the Chartered Institute of Development has found staff absences due to stress are at their highest levels in over a decade, with the pandemic, the high cost of living and other issues all being significant contributing factors, (click here). But what is stress?

According to the World Health Organisation, “stress can be defined as a state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation.”

However, there are two types of stress: good stress (eustress) and bad stress (distress).

Eustress refers to the sort of challenge and pressure that you thrive under or rise to meet with excitement. It could be a work deadline, or a wedding, or a rollercoaster ride. Meanwhile, distress is what we often mean when we are talking about ‘stress.’ It can refer to seemingly insurmountable pressures in any context (life or work), pressures that you feel you can’t cope with, or are not dealing with as well as you’d like. But stress isn’t a diagnosis in and of itself. It’s an umbrella term for a variety of things including:

 

  • Anxiety
  • Reactive depression
  • Anger-management
  • Guilt
  • Shame
  • Procrastination
  • Insomnia (often stress related)
  • Skin conditions such as psoriasis (also often stress related)
  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or IBS, (nearly always stress related)

 

You can turn to unhealthy coping strategies when you are stressed, such as alcohol, drugs (both prescription and recreational) and comforting eating. Stress can wear you down, it can affect you physically as well as mentally. You can become distracted, less productive, more forgetful, and more prone to illness (stress affects your immune system). Chronic work stress even has its own diagnosis: Burnout Syndrome. This is a purely occupational phenomenon not official recognised until 2019 and characterised by exhaustion, increased negativity (or cynicism) towards your job, and reduced professional efficacy.

Stress is such as small word for something with so many distressing ramifications.

Stress affects both your mind and your body. A little bit of it is good for you, but too much stress can easily overwhelm you. And we are living in a very stressful world; one that doesn’t seem to be interested in getting any easier. Stress quickly mounts up and it soon takes its toll.

Thankfully, there are things you can do to help mitigate your stress, such as yoga, meditation, taking regular breaks, and going for long walks. And, if those things aren’t enough then therapy and coaching can help.

I practice rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT) and clinical hypnotherapy, and both can help you mitigate your stress and build effective coping strategies in the face of it. With REBT and hypnotherapy the seemingly insurmountable obstacles in your daily live become something much easier to deal with.

So, if you think your stress is getting the better of you, feel free to book a call. I work face-to-face and online and can see anyone, anywhere (time zones permitting). And online therapy is just as effective as face-to-face, studies say so (click here).

Where Does the Time Go?

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Can it really be three years and five months since I last blogged on my own website? The answer to that question, going by the dates, is obviously yes. Yes, it has been more than three years.

Okay, in that time, I wrote and published one book (you can find a link to it here) and I’ve been writing a regular column over at Psychology Today (you can click on that here) and I’ve also been writing elsewhere (you can check a selection of those articles out here) but, still. Three years.

It’s been a tad remiss of me and so, to address that imbalance, I am going back to blogging on my own website where, over the coming months, I will hopefully be not only offering words of wisdom, but also helpful tips, exercises, and insights to help you manage your mental health and wellbeing that much better. After all, it’s a stressful world out there. So much so, that I’ve had to slightly redefine what it is that I offer (or, more importantly, what it is I treat).

I offer rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT) and clinical hypnotherapy (either separately or combined) together with elements of positive psychology and I offer it in both a psychotherapeutic and coaching capacity.

Times past, I said I specialised in the treatment of anxiety disorders and work-related stress management as, at the time, I was receiving more referrals for these things than anything else. So, that is how and where I built my areas of expertise.  I can also help you with pain control, but that’s another story.

Meanwhile, back to stress.

Since the pandemic and everything else that came after it, I’ve just accepted the fact that I am now a stress specialist. This still covers anxiety disorders and work-related stress management but, also a whole host of other things (more of that in another blog, I reckon).

“Stress,” is what people state the most when I ask them what they want help with. “I want you to help me manage my stress more effectively,” they say. And this I can do.

People also ask me to provide them with coping strategies (again, this I can do) but, when I used to ask them what they wanted those coping strategies for, they used to mention specific things, such as “my job,” or “my boss” or “my relationship” or “my challenging friend.” Nowadays, however, when I ask people what they want those coping strategies for, the most common response is, “everything.”

Despite all the strides made in mental health and wellbeing, despite the mine of information and the wealth of support that is out there, life has become even more stressful, not less so. And people need help in dealing with that.

To that end, my next book (out Spring 2024) is called How to Cope with Almost Anything with Hypnotherapy. And it will do just what the title suggests, using not only hypnotherapy, but also elements of REBT and positive psychology to help you increase your resilience, improve your wellbeing, and handle whatever life throws at you next more effectively.

In the meantime, I can personally help you cope with almost anything either face-to-face or online. And a recent study (click here) has found that online therapy is just as effective as face-to-face therapy.

People also value the convenience of it and the ability to engage with a therapist from the comfort of their own homes. So too do many of the therapists that offer online therapy.

So, face-to-face, or online, if there is stress in your life, if there is something you would like help in coping with, now is a good time to start. Because life always has that something to throw at you.

Life Lessons are not Always Appreciated

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It would appear that symbols of triumph over adversity are sadly lost on some people, even when said symbols are quite literally flourishing right in front of them.

 

I’m lucky in that the housing development I live in is built on the edge of what was once a churchyard. The church is long gone, but the grounds remain, and so what is now a lovely little park actually sits on my doorstep. It features a large lawn, a war memorial, several trees, squirrels galore, park benches and even a picnic table. It also often contains people walking their dogs or just chilling out in the space.

 

It’s certainly a beautiful view from my living room windows and one that I never fail to appreciate.

 

Sadly, in the four years that I’ve lived here several trees have been lost to the storms, felled by ferocious winds that are now a constant feature of the British weather.

 

One such tree was literally split in two by a particular violent episode about two years back. One half of it fell to the floor and one half remained. However, the remnants of its once proud boughs and trunk were, for safety’s sake, quickly chain sawed down to a mere stump that stood a little over waist height.

 

Undaunted by the spate of adversity it had faced, the tree stump decided to carry on regardless. The following spring, tiny shoots poked their way out from the reduced trunk and quickly grew into small branches. Each branch sprouted buds that blossomed and became leaves. For two whole summers, it wore those branches and leaves like a verdant, pagan crown. You can see the results in the picture at the top of this post.

 

I loved that tree stump; it was like a glorious “fuck you” and “bring it on!” to the challenges that life can chuck your way.

 

Sadly, as of today, that stump is no more. Bristol City Council in its infinite wisdom, or lack thereof, decided to butcher it, to take a chainsaw to that glorious symbol of fortitude and reduce it down to a mere plinth.

 

It will neither bud nor blossom again.

 

If asked for a comment, I’m sure some official at the council would say something bland and officious about health and safety.

 

You can survive any predicament in life, except for the things that kill you, and while that tree survived the storms, it could not survive officialdom.

 

Goodbye valiant little tree stump, I will always value the life lessons you taught me even if Bristol City Council will not.

There Is No Try!

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Yoda said it best when he told Luke Skywalker in the movie The Empire Strikes Back, “Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try.” But, what did he mean? What was the lesson, and why was it an important one?  Read more

Think of a Therapist as a Mechanic for your Mind

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Some people are a little put off by psychotherapy, and so approach it with caution, while others are too scared to go for therapy at all, even though they know they need it. There’s still a lot of stigma attached to mental health issues, but therapy need not be such a scary thing. As the self-development guru, Wayne Dyer, once famously said, “when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” Read more

Therapy: Physical Fitness for your Mind

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Despite the best efforts of the media and mental health professionals there is still, sadly, as stigma surrounding mental health. Many people regard psychotherapy and counselling sessions with fear and trepidation. But, there is a different view you can take. As the old adage says, “when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” Time then, to think of a therapist as nothing more than a fitness instructor for your mind. Read more

Brand New Bristol Based Therapist

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Well, fairly new; well, sort of new. New-ish; okay, I moved here from London in January 2016 but, due to other work commitments, it’s taken me this long to sort a private practice out. However, I am a psychotherapist and I’ve been working as one since 2004. Read more

Looking for a Life Coach?

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Not everybody needs a therapist and not everyone who is ‘stuck’ has a mental health issue. Some people just have problems to solve or difficult decisions to make; while others simply need to believe in themselves a little more than they do to make big changes in their lives. Which is where coaching comes in. Read more